


Dragon Fire

by VeraMera



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (cause the dragons are lazy), Also..., Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Garrison is a dragon slayer school, I don't think this is how you tag...ah well, Langst is mostly lance missing his fam, M/M, Mostly Lance's pov, SO WHAT I LOVE DRAGONS OKAY!??!, Slow Burn, THERE'S DRAGONS, almost post apocalyptic, also dragons, but I like to write as lance a lot, did I mention there's dragons?, hahaha read that last tag a few times I promise it was unintentional, like I'm a Keith stan, some twists, sorta - Freeform, well...for lance's home at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-16 13:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14165487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraMera/pseuds/VeraMera
Summary: Lance lives in a world that has been torn apart by dragons, and when the destruction the monsters cause spreads to his home, Lance is forced to grow up in the cruelest of ways.He then joins and academy of dragon slayers to take back his home. But soon the learns that things are not what they seem.Including the people around him.And himself.





	1. End at the Beginning

Any traveller going through the woods that day would have found themselves staring at two adolescent dragons play fighting. These two were of a rare breed, both in feathers instead of scales. One's feathers were dark, almost black with violet accents, and the other's were a mixture of brilliant blues and reds.

  
They tussled and pounced, much like cats or dogs. If it was just that, their behaviour would probably go unnoticed if they were any other sort of creature. But no, because most dragons at their age still stood an impressive nine feet tall at the shoulder, and these two fit the bill.

  
Yeah, no one could ignore them rough-housing.

  
But luckily for them, no one was around to see it: for being a dragon these days was enough to justify your death.

  
The darker dragon was currently winning, as it successfully pinned the other to the ground. It, er, HE proceeded to sit on his opponent, giving the blue dragon a smug expression.

  
The blue dragon squawked in mock agitation. He began to try to push the other off. Once he succeeded, he put a stop to the game as he began preening the other's feathers. The violet dragon relaxed, and returned the favor.

  
Soft rumbles and purrs were exchanged between the two mates, as their version of PDA was driving the rest of the forest away.

  
The two soon settled down, curled up against each other, and began to sleep.

  
Fate forbid these two should ever part.


	2. Leandro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Leandro tries to fly...
> 
>  
> 
> But his world crashes.

Leandro Martinez was a unique boy. He didn't quite fit with other children. Sure, he could blend in and appear to, but in the end, something was different.

  
He wanted to fly.

  
Some would say that every child dreams of flying, and that's mostly true, but Leandro didn't simply dream. He would run with the wind on blustery days, imagining the feeling of it rushing under his imaginary wings. He would stare up at the sky longingly, and he did it often enough until he knew every star's name and could see shapes in the clouds far quicker than anyone else.

  
His mother thought nothing of it.

  
His grandmother stated that Leandro simply wasn't human. "He was born to the sky, Rosa. His wings just haven't come in yet."

  
Mama laughed and told her that Leandro was just like any other boy. His papa agreed and went back to watching his children play pretend.

  
It wasn't until Leandro jumped off the roof and broke his leg did his parents start to believe. "Mama!" he told her. "I almost did it, I almost did it! I could feel them there, I could feel them!"

  
His mother later found a large blue feather on the ground where he had landed.

  
They kept a much closer eye on him after that.

  
His family also learned that the weather station was nowhere as reliable as Leandro's apparent sixth sense. If he said a storm was coming, you better believe a storm was coming. And if he said the sky was clear, not a cloud would be seen.

  
Other people thought he was strange. His family shushed them and loved Leandro's unique talents and desires. They were a part of him.

  
He knew he was different, nothing anyone said could hide it.

  
But he was fine with it. As long as his family was with him he could do anything.

  
And it was that way until the day They came.

  
Sirens screeched as They made their arrival. Screams rang out, buildings crashed to the ground, people panicked as they hurried to evacuate.

  
But one thing Leandro remembers, with the sky black with smoke and ash, rubble and flames marring the ground, were the Knights.

  
The Knights stood tall, fighting against the beasts, seeming to be fearless in that moment.

  
But in the end They still won.

  
The survivors that had made it to the mainland were rushed to clinics and shelters. The harsh white of the clinic where Leandro was sent was almost comforting when compared to the blacks and reds that would marr his nightmares.

  
"What's your name?" a nurse asked. She was wearing her best fake smile.

  
He stared at her quietly, his brother's jacket around him, dwarfing his small body. Their roars still echoing in his ears, the smell of burnt flesh, the sight of those horrid claws and gaping mouths forever engraved into his mind.

  
He pulled the jacket closer.

  
It was all he had.

  
His house was gone.

  
His family...

  
"Lance," he said. His voice hoarse from coughing up smoke.

  
The nurse nodded. She turned to her coworker murmuring things she clearly didn't want Lance to hear.

  
He turned his face toward the TV, the voices not entirely registering with his brain.

  
But the message was clear.

  
The island was Their's now.

  
But Lance wanted it back.

  
It was the only thing he could take back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha....
> 
> I'm sorry?
> 
> Please tell me what you think in the comments, and I'm open for suggestions.
> 
> And this is what I meant by Langst.


	3. Lance and his Interesting Study Habits.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 7 years after the dragon attack, Lance is a Garrison cadet ready to take on the world!
> 
>  
> 
> ...or not.

"LANCE!"

  
For the record, it was a dumb idea.

  
"LANCE CHARLES MCCLAIN!"

  
It was also his idea.

  
"IF WE DON'T DIE I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU!"

  
He sighed. "We're not gonna die Hunk, they're not gonna let us."

  
"Tell that to my FRANTIC HEART!" his best friend practically screeched.

  
That guy deserved a medal.

  
Lance would have laughed at Hunk's dramatics had it not been for the reason of his hysteria: a pair of angry wolf-like drakes yearning for blood.

  
The one that was hounding Lance lunged at him. He ducked and jumped out of the way.

  
This had all started because Hunk had suggested that they prepare for the upcoming exam. He had meant studying for the written part. Lance had agreed, but he had been thinking about the physical part...

  
Which would be fighting dragons in the arena.

  
"We could've just used the simulator!"

  
"It's unrealistic!"

  
"HOW IS IT UNREALISTIC?! I HAVE NIGHTMARES EVERY TIME!"

  
"Because there's no risk involved! It's just a VR game!"

  
"WELL I'D GLADLY TAKE NO RISK OVER RISK OF DEATH!"

  
"For the last time, WE. ARE. NOT. GOING. TO. DIE!" he punctuated his words with a strike at the dragon.

  
The beast yelped, before growing angrier and slashing at Lance with even more enthusiasm.

  
"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE DUMB DRAGONS, LANCE!"

  
Hunk's opponent seemed to be very offended.

  
"I'M TALKING ABOUT IVERSON! HE'LL KILL US!"

  
Training with live dragons without permission and supervision was against Garrison rules. The rules, which Hunk had pointed out earlier when Lance had suggested this, were there to prevent stupid Knight-wannabees from getting killed. And to prevent the dragons used from getting killed.

  
In training exercises, actual weapons weren't used. Instead, cadets were given bladeless staffs and arrow/bullet-less artillery. Because of that, the dragons used in training had chips implanted in various parts of their body, usually in weak spots. The chips would sense the 'weapons', and would trigger the dragon to feel the adequate amount of pain or to make it fall unconscious from what would be a death blow.

  
Sometimes it seemed like the dragons were more protected than the cadets.

  
Lance swerved out of the way of another strike, only for his weapon to get knocked out of his hand. With only his shield between him and the monster, he dove for the weapon. He would up being flat on the ground with the drake on top of him. Lance could feel it breathing down on his neck, pinning him down.

  
"LANCE!"

  
Suddenly, the beast screamed in agony. It jumped off of Lance and ran back to its cage. Hunk's opponent followed soon after.

  
Lance shakily stood up, and saw the source of his salvation.

  
"Officer Shirogane!" He quickly saluted.

  
The man looked at him sternly. "What exactly were you trying to do in here?"

  
"I was, um, well..." Lance looked to Hunk for support.

  
Hunk was frozen in his place, his face pale and shiny with sweat.

  
Lance chuckled nervously. "Would you believe we were studying?"

  
The officer raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just use the simulator? It's far safer."

  
"EXACTLY!" Hunk seemed to forget his anxiety for second.

  
"I, um...it just doesn't work for me?"

  
Officer Shirogane sighed. "Well, I'll let this one past. But just this once, understand?"

  
The duo vigorously nodded. "Yes sir!"

  
They practically scrambled out of the arena and began heading to their dorms.

  
"You know, if Shirogane hadn't been there, you would have either been severely wounded or dead," Hunk stated, his face neutral.

  
"I know." _O_ _h boy, here it comes_.

  
"You can't keep pulling crap like this, Lance."

  
"I know."

  
"On of these days you're going to get killed and I'll have to tell Mom and Tina and they'll kill me."

  
"Or they would just bring me back as a zombie and kill me again," Lance tried for some humor.

  
"Zombies don't exist, Lance," Hunk said, but there was a smile creeping up his face.

  
"How would you know that, Hunk? Maybe they exist among us, waiting to devour our brains!"

  
"Well I don't think you have much to worry about there," Hunk smirked. "You don't have a brain."

  
Lance feigned hurt. "How dare you insult my intellect! I'll have you know that-"

  
Lance's reply was cut off when he slammed into a distracted cadet. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

  
"Sorry I...wait..." Lance's face twisted into a smirk. "Eeeey Mullet."

  
The boy frowned at him. "It's not a mullet, Lance."

  
"Look up 'emo Asian mullet', Keithy, you'll probably find your picture."

  
Keith huffed. He then looked Hunk and Lance up and down. "Were you in the arena?"

  
"Um, no?" Lance lied. _Don't tell the teacher's pet about the rules you've broken._

  
Keith didn't seem convinced. "Whatever. I'm going to study." He walked past them.

  
"Later, mullet!" Lance called after him. Keith seemed to ignore him and just head for the...arena?

  
_Is he going to...NAH! He's best boy Keith, there's no way he would do something dumb like you!_

  
_Or worse, like going into the arena alone._

  
_Yeah Keith would never do something that stupid._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somethings that weren't mentioned but are there...
> 
> 1\. Lance was taken in by Hunk's family after the dragon attack. Hunk basically joined the Garrison to make sure Lance didn't die...Lance kinda makes his job hard at times.
> 
> 2\. I've always headcanoned that people (especially Lance) had a lot of misconceptions about Keith at the Garrison. Keith was probably very passionate about being a pilot, and his enthusiasm for it probably made his teachers (like Iverson) show some favoritism. This probably didn't sit well with other students. Also, with the fact he has a hard time with people, he would seem standoffish and rude...people might have thought that he had an 'I'm too cool to be around other people' thing going on. And it didn't help that he was veery close to a superior officer. So in this AU, I wanted to highlight that more, especially with Lance.


	4. Reminder of Mortality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outcome of the Kerberos Mission

"The Kerberos Mission has been declared a failure. The members of the expedition, Takashi Shirogane, Matthew Holt, and Samuel Holt have been killed in action."

  
The Garrison had been quiet after that. Shirogane was a hero to many, including Lance, so of course people missed him. But Sam and Matt Holt? Sam Holt, or Commander Holt was a favorite of many cadets, as he was approachable and gave off that 'I'm a Dad' vibe. And Matt was, well, young and smart, talented and funny, and a cadet.

  
A cadet.

  
Like them.

  
A gruesome reminder of their war-torn world, and of the simple fact that no matter how old or how young you were, you could die any day.

  
Of course Lance already knew that.

  
The quiet and new level of grim melancholy weren't the only changes. He noticed that the halls were emptier, and that there were less cadets than before. Many had left the Garrison to go home where it felt 'safer', but how safe was home when a dragon attack could occur any moment?

  
He also noticed that Keith was gone too. Lance later found out that the Garrison golden boy had been _expelled_.

  
Why? No one knew for sure.

  
 _At least he's home with his family_.

  
Another new thing was Pidge.

  
Pidge Gunderson, a new cadet that pulled off a false identity and made it look easy. Of course, Lance only found out about that after he and Hunk had roomed with Pidge for three months.

  
He hadn't expected that.

  
The trio had grown close over the year. Between learning how to fight dragons and getting wrapped up in Pidge's little conspiracy, they had plenty of close calls. And the more Lance learned about the Garrison's inner workings, the more he was convinced that Pidge was right.

  
The Garrison was hiding something, and they had used the Kerberos Mission to cover it up.

  
And they were determined to find out what.

  
Lance's list of goals had turned into something shorter: uncover the Garrison's lies and end the Dragon War.

  
He had thought the latter would be simple: Just get rid of the dragons.

  
He was wrong. So wrong.

  
Life for Leandro Martinez had never been simple.

  
Life for Lance McClain would never be simple.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all those reading!
> 
> I know this is a VERY short chapter...but I'm writing a much longer one.
> 
> I love this AU very much, so if you have questions or theories please tell me. I'd love to hear them!


	5. So World Went Up In Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunters become the hunted.
> 
>  
> 
> Or were they ever hunters in the first place?

_His heart pounded in his ears, downing out the horrific sounds of the massacre._

  
_He was running._

  
_The person, whose grip on Leandro's wrist was tight enough to bruise, was running too._

  
_They didn't dare look back at what they were running from._

  
_But they could feel those heartless yellow eyes boring into them._

  
_They took a sharp turn, just as their legs were about to give beneath them. They fell against a jalopy of a pickup truck, gasping for breath._

  
_The older boy looked just as scared as Leandro._

  
_"Get under the truck," he told Leandro, his voice tight._

  
_Leandro obeyed._

  
_"When I get up from here, don't look. Just stay there. And if I don't come back..."_

  
_He took off his jacket and handed it to Leandro._

  
_"Don't come looking for me."_

  
_Leandro closed his eyes the second his brother stood up._

  
_What he didn't see, he heard._

  
_The shouting turned into screaming. And the angry roars became almost gleeful._

  
_All he could do was grip the jacket tighter._

  
_All he could do._

  
...

  
"LUIS!" Lance jolted awake in a cold sweat. Fresh tears were streaming down his face.

  
"Bad dream again?" He looked over to see Hunk, standing over him, a worried expression on his face.

  
"More like a bad memory," Lance murmured, sitting up.

  
"Want to talk about it?" Hunk sat next to him on the bed.

  
"No."

  
"Okay," Hunk spread open his arms. "Hug?"

  
Lance immediately accepted the warm embrace. "Thanks, bud."

  
"Anytime."

  
...

  
"Pidgey, did you get _any_  sleep last night?" Lance remarked.

  
"A few hours," she yawned.

  
"Yeah, but were those hours in a bed?" he challenged.

  
She muttered something.

  
"That had better been a 'no' because I can still clearly see the imprints from the keyboard on your face."

  
She merely stuck her tongue at him.

  
"I swear, Pidge, so help me, I _will_  make Hunk sit on you tonight if you don't go to bed and sleep on your own!"

  
"You're mean," she huffed.

  
"And you're a little gremlin with eyebags the size of Texas." Lance grinned as she giggled.

  
"Texas? Really?" She smiled at him.

  
"Seriously though, you need sleeeeeeeep."

  
She sighed. "Yeah, I guess your right...this time."

  
"'This time'?!" Lanced squeaked. "When have I ever been wrong?!"

  
She raised an eyebrow.

  
"Don't answer that."

  
She giggled. Lance smiled, feeling a sense of achievement. It was rare to hear her laugh like that.

  
Her laughter grew quiet as another thought took over. Her face then looked as tired as she felt.

  
"Hey, what's wrong?"

  
She gave them a small smile. "You just, um, you remind me a lot of Matt sometimes."

  
He nodded.

  
"I-I miss him."

  
Lance pulled her into a hug. "If he's still out there, Pidge, we'll find him."

  
"What...what if he's not?" she sniffed.

  
She couldn't see it, but she could hear Lance's darkened expression in his next words...

  
"Then we'll avenge them," Leandro stated. _They've taken enough from us._

  
...

  
Red lights flared. Sirens wailed. A sense of panic filled the air.

  
"THIS IS A CODE CRIMSON ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

  
They were under attack.

  
Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had grabbed their armor and weapons, and made their way to the center of the base. The cold feeling of adrenaline spiked in their veins.

  
And fear.

  
It had only been drills until now.

  
Drills never killed you.

  
...

  
 **Dragons didn't like being hunted**.

  
 _Because they're naturally the hunters_.

  
 **It wasn't natural**.

  
 _They don't like being prey_.

  
 **Humans had thought they could hunt them**.*

  
 _Not quite_.

  
 **They needed to be put back in their place**.

 

_Be careful, it might be you instead._

  
_..._

  
Lance dove for cover as the ceiling above him collapsed. When the rubble stopped falling, he jumped to his feet, ready to fight whatever monster came through first. He had gotten separated from Hunk and Pidge a while back, and he was now left to his own devices.

  
 _Yay_.

  
The beast that dropped through hole was lithe and slender, almost snake-like. Its cold yellow eyes locked in on him. It then let out a shrill, eager for the hunt.

  
...

  
Lance dashed into the first room he saw. He locked the door behind him, and almost collapsed in relief. He gasped for air, and his heart pounded frantically in his chest.

  
But the universe was not on his side.

  
He took notice of the room he was currently in...

  
The Arena.

  
The Arena that was filled to the brim with cages of dragons. Dragons that were always pissed and full of bloodlust and were tired of being locked up.

  
Or at least...that was what the Arena _used_ to be.

  
Because now, with cage doors flung open and sparking control panels, Lance was pretty sure that the beasts weren't captive at all.

  
So where were they now?

  
A guttural growl to his left gave him an answer. He scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with fear as he stared at the hulking monstrosity in front of him.

  
More shrieks and growls joined the first, and Lance realized in horror that he had traded just one dragon for a couple hundred.

  
He was as good as dead.

  
...

  
_**They won't last much longer.** _

  
_**...** _

  
In the midst of the chaos, the arena ceiling ripped open. The dragons started scrambling out, some fighting their way through the mass of frantic reptiles.

  
Lance once more stoop back up, albeit much slower and with more wincing than before. His attention was drawn back towards the ceiling, or what was left of it...

  
Then he saw it.

  
...

  
_Leandro huddled under the truck, whimpering and crying. He tried to cover his ear to block out the sounds._

  
_But he could still feel them._

  
_He could still feel the heavy foot steps of a large dragon. A behemoth._

  
_He begged for it to go away._

  
_With a terrible crunch, the truck was lifted off the ground. The beast tossed the mangled vehicle away with ease._

  
_And it stared at him._

  
_With one heartless yellow eye._

  
_..._

  
One yellow eye bore into him.

  
He couldn't move.

  
He couldn't scream.

  
He couldn't fight back.

  
He was lifted into a blood red sky.

  
He stared at the ground.

  
At the Garrison.

  
At the rubble.

  
The dragons had come.

  
They had taken.

  
...

  
**The dragons would take it all.**

  
**The humans will not win this war.**

  
_Only a dragon can hunt a dragon_.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I promised a longer chapter...so here you go!  
> To be honest I really just wanted to get this part of the story out of the way, so we can get to the fun stuff next chapter.  
> Please let me know what you think of this story...and what you think could happen next.


End file.
